LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party government is gearing up to include 17 OBC sub-castes into the scheduled castes.

A high-level committee headed by Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Jawed Usmani has sought details from the department of social welfare before issuing a notification in this regard. The circular from the UP chief secretary on March 28, too, speaks of the government's priorities, including the inclusion of 17 OBC sub-castes within the SC category.

If the 17 OBC sub-castes move to the SC category, the SP benefits from votes of both the OBCs, whose space within the reservation system increases, and the sub castes, who get more opportunities as SCs. While the OBCs have 27% reservation, the SC/ST category has 22.5%. The move was one of SP's poll promises during the assembly elections.

According to official sources, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav may even take up this issue at a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi on April 16. The 17 sub-castes which the government wants included in the SC category are Kahar, Kashyap, Kewat, Nishad, Bind, Bhar, Prajapati, Rajbhar, Batham, Gaur, Tura, Majhi, Mallah, Kumhar, Dheemar and Machua.

The move also marks the SP's strategy to consolidate the votes that drifted away following an overwhelming dominance of Yadavs over a period of time. The sub-castes proposed to be included in the SC category essentially constitute the most backward castes (MBCs) within the OBCs.

The SP government in 2005 had amended the UP Public Services Act, 1994, to include as many as 17 castes from the OBCs in the SC category. But, since the power to declare any caste as 'scheduled' rests with the Centre, the then UP government's decision, taken without the Centre's consent, proved in fructuous. The Allahabad high court later quashed the decision, leaving these castes in the lurch.

During his election campaign, Akhilesh Yadav had held a series of meeting with MBC leaders assuring them of their due share in politics if SP was voted to power.

This dickhead of a guy really went to Mysore and Australia? There are better ways to win over people than Divide-and-Rule. Power may come to those who divide but eventually stays with those who unite. Eventually he'll start OBC vs Dalit war. Not one guy in this place support SP (except for a weirdo name bacchu ) Anyway, what else can you expect out of cow-herder party who fields most unpopular characters in polls like bandit queen and hooch-lord of Western UP. Eventually those that talk about reservation lose popularity in mainstream like Rahul Vinci did.

This dickhead of a guy really went to Mysore and Australia? There are better ways to win over people than Divide-and-Rule. Power may come to those who divide but eventually stays with those who unite. Eventually he'll start OBC vs Dalit war. Not one guy in this place support SP (except for a weirdo name bacchu ) Anyway, what else can you expect out of cow-herder party who fields most unpopular characters in polls like bandit queen and hooch-lord of Western UP. Eventually those that talk about reservation lose popularity in mainstream like Rahul Vinci did.

I spoke to the Law Minister of Bengal that having lived the major part of my life in a SC Regt, why was I being denied an SC status?

The chap had a hearty laugh, spilt his whisky in the process on my clothes and said I was joking! He said I was being Rahul Gandhi partaking a meal with the SC. I told him Rahul was a one night stand and I was a lifetime phenomenon!

A High Court Judge out there enjoying our hospitality, a bit of a pompous oaf, said he was not amused!

This dickhead of a guy really went to Mysore and Australia? There are better ways to win over people than Divide-and-Rule. Power may come to those who divide but eventually stays with those who unite. Eventually he'll start OBC vs Dalit war. Not one guy in this place support SP (except for a weirdo name bacchu ) Anyway, what else can you expect out of cow-herder party who fields most unpopular characters in polls like bandit queen and hooch-lord of Western UP. Eventually those that talk about reservation lose popularity in mainstream like Rahul Vinci did.

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a) Mysore and Australia has nothing to do with him having superlative brains or lack of. b) Voters of UP saw thro' Rahul Gandhi/Congress game when they questioned why the promised Muslim quota was taken out of the hat just 6 months prior to Assembly election. They were seen as paying lip service to Muslim reservation and being insincere.